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Polyjuice Potion

I looked in the Filing Cabinet and didn't lock onto my answer. That could be because it's a foolish question. But here goes:

Usually, the hairs for the Polyjuice Potion are plucked from somebody's head; this person, judging by Mad-Eye in Goblet, has to be alive. So, do the hairs have to be plucked from a living person at that moment? Hermione got hers from M. Bulstrode's robes; she snatched the wtong ones, Can the hairs of a person be collected from a hairbrush, or a comb or something else? Would it still work because the dead cells are technically no longer growing?

This isn't a silly question. I don't have a direct answer, but I've got some help.

The hair you can see on your head is dead. The living part is the bit that's planted into the scalp. Hair grows from the scalp. The hair you can see has no living-ness in it. It's funny how we all use gel/conditioner/shampoo etc on dead cells, right?

But then, if we venture into GoF:

Originally Posted by Albus Dumbledore

"The imposter needed, of course to keep the real Moody close by, so that he could continue making the potion. You see his hair ... the imposter has been cutting it off all year, see where it is uneven?"

That kinda implies that the person needs to be alive, y'know? I mean, it wouldn't been a lot easier (and less risky) to kill the real Moody, shave off his hair, and take the hair to school, wouldn't it? But instead Crouch Jnr keeps him there ...

But then, in DH, Hermione used Bellatrix's hair, and that was at least a few days "old".

the imposter has been cutting it off all year, see where it is uneven?"

When you cut hair you don't get the skin at the base.

Maybe the hair being old was mentioned becuase the polyjuice potion makes an identical copy of the person at the time of the hair being plucked. So if Hermione was to leave a hairbrush at her house at the start of the school year and it was stolen by a death eater (entriely hypothetical) but he didn't use it until the end of the school year, then he would appear younger than the real Hermione so it would be useless.

Jess

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It was worth the chocolate : )

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I bet you could use hair from a hairbrush, but it would be a lot riskier. If somebody else had used it, you might accidentally get their hair instead. It's probably just safer to get it directly from the person, but you can use a Summoning Charm if you don't want them to know. Fred and George did that when they were disguising Harry for the wedding.